This prophetic 50s TV show stars a wall-building con man named Trump

It’s almost too good to be true, but true it is. A 1958 episode from the Western series Trackdown features a con artist called Trump, who claims to be the only one who can save the town from a dire fate by constructing a wall.

Hands down the most enjoyable thing about this is the uncanny number of similarities the 50s Trump villain has to the modern-day Trump villain. From the comically theatrical speeches and volatile temper to the bullet-proof confidence, he’s a Trump through and through.

The episode is positively rich with golden lines about the “con man”, delivered in thoroughly enjoyable Western accents. It’s eerily accurate, to the point of being almost prophetic.

In the episode, just like in Trump’s current unholy reign, our protagonists fail to arrest him for being plain slimy (and inciting fear-driven mania in the population).

When he feels vulnerable under the sceptical scrutiny of Texas Ranger Hoby Gilman, 50s Trump, the “high priest of fraud”, wildly threatens to sue.

When the “gun-law” (Sheriff Chet-Farrow) and the “book-law” (Judge Clement) get together, they try to find a way to cease his crazy reign.

Sheriff: “There’s gotta be some way to stop him!”

Judge: “Well if there is, I don’t know it. Ah, it’s a funny thing… when we were kids we were all afraid of the dark. Then we grew up, we weren’t afraid any more, but it’s funny how a big lie can make us all kids again.”

The show rings true to the silly scare tactics, schoolyard bullying and temper tantrums that have characterised Trumps presidency.

Spoiler alert! The video ends with words I, for one, have been longing to hear.